Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s initiatives may have been new to West Bengal but they had been pursued by the Centre and other state governments for quite a while. Ever since the paradigm shift in the Indian economy in 1991, elected governments in India have followed neo-liberal economic policies of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation. The Rao government’s policies were carried forward by the Vajpayee-led NDA dispensation. And with the Centre no longer dictating the pace of growth in the states, state governments began racing against one another to woo private domestic and foreign investment. Visible “feel good” signs — better urban infrastructure, sleek IT centres, and middle class consumerism — frequently followed.

But every leader who pushed this growth path — be he Narasimha Rao or Atal Bihari Vajpayee, N. Chandrababu Naidu or S.M. Krishna — lost at the hustings. If Bhattacharjee has bucked that trend, the secret of his success lies in the West Bengal CPI(M)’s very well thought-out and skilfully implemented strategy.

Despite ideological inhibitions against private capital, the Left Front government realised as early as 1994 that it was necessary for the economic growth of the state. Land reforms, decentralisation of power and government initiatives had yielded rich dividends in rural Bengal but industrial stagnation remained intractable. After 1991, it was no longer possible to blame the Centre’s “discrimination” for Bengal’s economic woes. Since providing “relief” to the people was the government’s priority, it was time to take advantage of the new economic policies and woo private investment. But it took several years for the LF to convince both private capital and sceptics within of the need to follow an investor-friendly policy.

... contd.